Full Title: Recommendations for Advancing U.S.-Israel Cooperation in Energy Exploration and Production
Author(s): U.S. Israel Business Initiative
Publisher(s): U.S. Israel Business Initiative
Publication Date: May 1, 2013
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Description (excerpt):
In providing the observations and suggestions that follow, the Chamber recognizes the impressive speed with which Israel has transitioned from a country with very limited hydrocarbon exploration and production to one positioned to become a natural gas exporter. As gas from the Tamar reserve began flowing during the holiday of Passover at the end of March, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the historic significance of this event: “On the Festival of Freedom, we are taking an important step toward energy independence.”1 The Chamber congratulates Israel on this remarkable achievement.
Since 2009, approximately 30 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gross natural gas resources have been identified offshore Israel by commercial firms. These volumes of natural gas have transformed Israel’s energy landscape and promise even more significant developments for the country’s broader economy. Beginning with Israel’s first commercially viable discovery at Mari-B more than a decade ago, Israel moved rapidly to integrate natural gas into the domestic economy. The facts are compelling and bear repeating even to the most well-informed audiences: before 2000, the country’s electric utilities did not utilize any natural gas for power generation; in the coming years, the projections suggest that natural gas will account for well over 50 percent of Israel’s electricity generation.2 With the discovery of Leviathan, a field containing an estimated 18 TCF, Israel enjoys the option of becoming an energy exporter.